


Nightmares

by MischievousParadox



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Nightmares, Regeneration, Tumblr Prompt, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-19 12:04:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5966767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MischievousParadox/pseuds/MischievousParadox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nightmares plague Missy nearly every night. She's constantly awoken by them in a panicked state and the Doctor can no longer sit by and allow her to suffer alone.</p><p>~.~</p><p>Tumblr prompt<br/>"If I could, I would kiss away all of your scars."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> This is an other tumblr prompt one shot. Nothing too fancy. But this is basically my headcannon of how the Master became the Mistress and no one can change my mind unless something else becomes cannon.  
> I hope you enjoy! And don't let the tags scare you away. Nothing descriptive.

She awoke with a start, shooting upright in bed, clutching the blankets around her. She on the verge of tears and her breathing was heavy. She hated this. She hated every second of it. The vivid nightmares, the all too real flashbacks. They plagued her almost every night.  
She flinched away at the feeling of a hand on her back, still hyperventilating. But she relaxed slightly when she realized who the hand belonged to; the Doctor. "Missy...?" He questioned, his voice still laced with sleep.  
She didn't speak at first, she barely even gave him a second glance. She wasn't ready to talk about this. She could barely even think about it while she was awake. Though she was honestly shocked she'd been able to keep them a secret from him for this long. But it seemed the secret was out. And she knew he wouldn't drop it until she either told him what was going on or made up some excuse that was good enough for him to believe. The second would prove to be difficult. If there was one thing they knew about each other, it was when they were lying.  
Her breathing began to even out, her white-knuckled grip on the blankets loosening slightly. She shook her head. "I'm fine..." She muttered, still not looking at him because she knew his eyes would be full of concern and she wouldn't be able to hold herself together if she dared to look at them.  
He caressed her back gently. He hadn't a clue what was going on but he could tell that something was bothering her. And nothing bothered her.  
Truth be told he knew something had been going on for the past few days. He'd just chosen to give her space and wait for her to tell him. But a third night in a row of her waking in such a panicked state and he couldn't take it any longer. He wanted, no he needed to help her. "Missy, please..." He practically begged her, his touch still gentle on her back.  
She glanced up at him for a second, the fear and pain still clear in her eyes. Whatever was bothering must have been horrific. He'd never seen her like this in all of the year's they'd been together.  
She sucked in a deep breath of air, closing her eyes for a moment as she cleared her mind the best she could of the images. "Nightmares." She spoke under her breath. It was barely over a whisper but she knew he'd heard her. "Nightmares and flashbacks and memories...." She muttered, her fingers tightening around the blankets again. "Of Gallifrey." She looked up at him, her expression panicked again.  
"Gallifrey?" He asked, confused. He knew it hadn't been perfect, hardly the way he chose to remember it. But he never imagined it would be bad enough to give the Mistress nightmares.  
She nodded. "Doctor... It's... It's bad. It's terrible. It's horrendous." She stuttered, on the verge of tears again. So he pulled her tightly into his arms, stroking her hair and caressing her back. Doing everything he could to comfort her.  
"Rassilon." She began to speak again, curling more into herself and burying her head in his chest. "He was so, so angry when Gallifrey was returned... At you. At me for helping you..."  
At first he'd been a bit confused by what she was talking about but then it hit him like a ton of bricks. His tenth regeneration and Missy's pervious. When the Lord President had driven the Master mad with the sound of the drums and tried to return Gallifrey in Earth's place. When their friendship had been put to the true test and they'd ultimately prevailed. The Master had sacrificed himself to save the Doctor and Earth in the process. He could imagine Rassilon had been rather cross with the both of them. But he never even considered what might have become of his best friend. He could feel her tiny form beginning to shake in his arms. "Shh..." He cooed, trying to calm her.  
She took in a strangled breath of air, was she crying? "Rassilon took me prisoner. He tortured me. He tried to get information out of me about you, about the hybrid but after a while he knew I wouldn't crack. Not when you were involved. So he just started torturing me for the fun of it...." She let out a strangled noise. She was crying. And The Doctor's eyes were wide in horror of the mere idea of what pain she must have gone through. "He kept torturing me until I regenerated.. That's why I'm female now. I couldn't control it. I was too weak and worn and battered to even try to decide what face I took...." She trailed off, her arms wrapping around his middle tightly. She hated this. She hated opening herself up, showing just how weak and vulnerable she really was. She wasn't nearly the strong Time Lady she pretended to be. At least she didn't see herself as the woman that she charades as.  
He simply held her tightly, letting her cry. He knew she didn't like this. He knew what she thought of exposing feelings and fears. And he knew she thought she was weak because of this. But he also knew she was so much more incredibly strong than any charade she could ever put on. She'd gone through Rassilon's tortures without spilling a word. And survived. That in itself was beyond any strength most could only ever dream of having. And now she relived it every night on her own for who knows how long. She was brave and strong beyond her years.  
He leaned down, kissing the top of her head gently. "I would kiss them away if I could..." He told her and she looked up at him through her tear stained eyes in confusion. "What..?"  
"Your scars.. I would kiss them away if I could." He repeated though that only seemed to confuse her more but she didn't question it. She was far too exhausted to worry about his cryptic words.  
He laid back in bed again, still holding her against him. He took her face between his hand and pressed the foreheads together, projecting the memories of their childhood, the happy ones, into her mind. She smiled a bit, her eyes fluttering shut. That was the Gallifrey she wanted to remember. The Gallifrey where Theta and Koschei grew up together frolicking through the red grasses and causing trouble. When things had been simpler.  
He pressed his lips to her gently now that she was seeming to calm down. He'd stay up with her all night if he needed to. Anything to keep her from feeling that horrendous pain. "Not all scars are physical..." He told her as she began to drift off to sleep again, this time with a smile gracing her lips.  
Everyone has scars. Even Time Lords who regenerate. Some wounds heal but the damage that's done does not. And not all scars that are left behind are visible. They both had plenty of their own scars. And he wished with every fiber of his being that he could kiss away all of his dear friend Missy's.


End file.
